The proliferation of networked computers (e.g. those connected to the Internet) has grown exponentially in recent years. In addition, many local or enterprise networks have connectivity to a network (e.g. the Internet) via a gateway, so that all computers on a business' local network are also accessible to a network (e.g. Internet). Other forms of access, including wireless devices, allowing access to a local or enterprise network, as well as directly to a network (e.g. Internet) are common. In short, network connectivity of computers is quite common.
It is also well known that networked computer may be susceptible to on-line cyber attacks. Such cyber attacks are typically attempts to obtain control or information from the target computer system. A common form of information is data stored pertaining to personal and financial data; however “hackers” or intruders will attempt to obtain any information regarding the target computer system, such as passwords, email addresses, program names, etc. in an attempt to further their illegal goals.
Various companies provide hardware and/or software products for monitoring such attacks, which may record and analyze interactions with a target computer. The vulnerabilities can be determined proactively, such as ‘probing’ computers on a network to determine if they are vulnerable, as well as reactively, such as examining vulnerability after an intrusion has occurred. One class of products is called vulnerability management systems (VMS) and is well known in the area of computer security. The VMS products can scan or monitor a network and report on vulnerabilities associated with the network. VMS products can provide valuable information in the form of reports regarding the vulnerability of a computer on a network
A large business enterprise, which can have tens of thousands of employees working in a country or working in countries across the world, can have thousands of computer systems networked together. Managing the vulnerability of all these computers is a complex task. In some cases, managing the vulnerability of such computers to cyber attacks is done reactively—e.g., only after a computer has been compromised and the compromise detected. Furthermore, the computers can be physically located in various parts of the organization, and for large enterprises, the organization itself can be complex. For many large corporations, there can be numerous subsidiaries and sub-enterprise entities. Indeed, many individuals in a company do not have a complete perspective of the company's organization outside of their immediate workgroup. Consequently, being able to manage computer vulnerabilities for a large enterprise can be very complex and may be carried out on an ad-hoc basis.
Because many large businesses have many networked computers, and because of the frequency of attempts to intrude into their computers, many business have developed computer security organizations whose sole focus is to address such risks and/or cyber attacks. Such personnel require a comprehensive view of the enterprise, both on a human organizational perspective as well as a computer network perspective. In order to address vulnerabilities in the corporate networks, the security people must be able to identify, assess, and react to such threats and vulnerabilities. However, to date, no such tools have been developed to facilitate the management of such problems on a business organization level. Consequently methods and tools for addressing this aspect are required